14
How glad and happy you will be, and how happy many others will be when he is born!
15
John will be great in the Lord's sight. He must not drink any wine or strong drink. From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,
16
and he will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
17
He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children together again; he will turn disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous; he will get the Lord's people ready for him."
18
Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man, and my wife is old also."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.